Yu Gi Oh! Ghost Squadron (A Mecha Phantom Beast Short Story)
by Firebat DZ
Summary: In the vast multiverse of Yu Gi Oh! Two planes of existence are locked in an epic war of conquest and survival. The realm of fiends, Dark World, intents to use the titanic super weapon Gustav Max to eradicate the forces of the realm of Technology, Cyber World. However, Cyber World has brought upon their own weapons, the Mecha Phantom Beasts, to fight back in the name of freedom.


It was fifteen years before the dimensional changing events of the Chaotic Invasion. The forces of the Dark World had just begun their ruthless assault on the cities of Cyber World. Hordes of fiends of all sizes and power ravaged the lands of the highly technological populace. At first resistance was strong, enough to repel most of the forces and the people of Cyber World looked like having a fighting chance against the monstrosities from the fiendish realm. But it didn't take long for the Dark World forces to show their true power. A brilliant yet diabolical scientist by the name of Kozaky aided the dark world fiends in churning advanced technological monstrosities. Twisted versions of the inventions he engineered during his time as a member of the Cyber World scientific community.

Among these inventions was Kozaky's Magnus opus, the Super dreadnaught Rail Cannon Gustav Max. A titanic machine of destruction able to level entire cities with a single blast of its seemingly eternal length cannon. The rail cannon was the ultimate symbol of power in the Dark World's engine of conquest. It didn't take long for the commander in chief of the Dark World forces; Ultrius the Invader of Darkness, to self proclaim the cannon as his own flagship. Every city the fiends attacked, the cannon made its way into and with a single blast, decimated any opposing forces with little disregard to collateral damage.

It didn't take long for the defending forces of Cyber World to realize they were in a losing fight. But when others would lose hope, many in Cyber World did the opposite, they kept fighting. New technological advances came forth to combat every new enemy the dark world threw at them. One of them was a special project with the task of creating the ultimate innovation in air superiority. A project so powerful that it would place the Cyber World's forces leagues ahead of anything the Dark World fiends could produce. This project was called the Mecha Phantom Beast Initiative.

The initiative's goal was simple, create a device that would make its current air and space forces far superior and durable than the Dark World's forces without the resort of mass production. Its product was an innovative shielding system known as the Phantom Shield. When activated the Phantom Shield would surround its host craft with a lightly visible shield aura and project an exact hologram copy of the craft nearby. As long as the hologram wasn't attacked, the shielded craft was impervious to any sort of weaponry. In addition, many of Cyber World's aircraft were equipped with systems that could harness the energy from the Phantom Shields for other uses called Phantom Weapons. This technology quickly tipped the scales and gave the Cyber World air force complete domination of the skies. However, it didn't take long for the Dark World fiends, including Kozaky, to take notice, and sinister plans against this initiative quickly started to brew.

Far away from any conquered territory, a young group of recently inducted pilots were undergoing their flight training. It was a day approaching a beautiful sunset, the wind was calm and steady and the clouds as white as snow. Graphite colored jet fighter with the traits of a prehistoric velociraptor leaded the pack, its wings cutting through the clouds. The yellow tinted windows that resembled a pair of menacing eyes belonged to the cockpit, reflected the incoming sunrays. Inside, a man in silver hair and blue eyes worked with the controls to guide his aircraft. His headset lightly bursted the voice of his commanding officer giving him new orders.

"Seifer, we are doing one last pass on the Mountain then going home. Relay the orders to the rest of the crew. And tell Weiss no funny business; we need those craft on the ground as soon as possible."

"Copy that sarge, see you on the ground soon." Seifer replied before closing the channel. "Alright boys you heard the man, one last pass and we land these babies on the ground."

A dark grey, stretched out craft with the beak of a falcon approached Seifer's left side. From the black tinted caged windows, a blue haired man waved for attention at Seifer.

"Seifer, seriously, sometimes I wish you could just tell the sarge to go back to his momma. I am clearly the most daring and courageous pilot in this squadron and the guy doesn't know how to give credit. All he does is puts us to do lame circuits around territory without a fiend in sight for 100 miles. Who does he think he is training? They don't call me Weiss the Great for no reason."

A young female's voice interrupted in a cold tone, it came from a Tan Jet fighter with the facial traits of a ferocious lion on its cockpit, the craft flanked Seifer's right side, the pilot inside was a beautiful yet serious red haired woman with green eyes. "I don't recall anyone calling you that Weiss, now please, let's do as the sarge ordered, end this and go home. I could use a nap. Don't make me use you as target practice."

Seifer needed to intervene before his two comrades started going at each other for no reason. "Alright Lex, that's enough. Come on guys, don't make me write stuff in the report that you guys don't want the sarge to hear."

"Oh don't worry about me Seifer, let me at her! Come on Lex, you up for some Uno a Uno? My BlackFalcon can take on your Harrliard any day!" Weiss taunted, bringing his BlackFalcon in front of Lex's Harrliard and doing a barrel roll.

"Weiss, stop it, Go back to your position. That's an order." Seifer ordered, his grip on the flight stick tightening. The BlackFalcon moved back into its initial position as ordered.

"Typical Seifer, so fun at parties..." Weiss said rolling his eyes.

A young cheerful woman's voice let out a light chuckle on the channel. It came from a sleek blue and grey jet fighter whose traits on the cockpit resembled those of an Impala, including two horn-like blades on the ends of each wing. The impala jet fighter made circles around a tight radius showing off its extreme acrobatic abilities. Inside, a blonde haired innocent looking woman with blue eyes took command.

"Yep, even Alice knows it's true." Weiss added.

The group continued to make the final Mountain pass before heading back to the base. As they approached the end of it. Seifer's systems began to alert him of an incoming bogey target. A female virtual voice could be heard through his headset, relaying the information.

"_WARNING! WARNING! Incoming Enemy Fighter Craft Detected! Gradius Class. WARNING! WARNING! Incoming Enemy Fighter Craft Detected! Gradius Class!_"

"Listen up Ghosts! We got enemy grads nearby. Standby for further instructions, they might just be making a patrol run. Goddard, can the Turtletracer identify their distance to us?" Seifer ordered.

Not so far behind Seifer's Megaraptor, was a wide fighter craft with a peculiar dome hull and the facial traits of a turtle. The dome representing the turtle's shell then suddenly glows lightly as it begins its powerful radar operations. Inside the cockpit, a brown haired man relays the information he has captured with the Turtletracer's systems back to Seifer. "Enemy craft is about 100 miles off our location. It looks to be a small scouting party of about five grads. However it's the path their patrol is taking that's peculiar to me. If they continue through that path they will reach the base."

Seifer took a moment to ponder the situation. Weiss however couldn't help but speak out. "They are sending a scouting party to relay the base's location, it has to be it! Come on Seifer we have to do something about this!"

"Calm down Weiss, they could still be on a patrol run, if we engage we run the risk of them knowing a base is nearby and we would be responsible of any attack done on the base. Goddard, keep tracing them, if they get too close, we engage. The rest of you, standby for attack formation." Seifer responded.

Minutes passed as Seifer and the rest of the Ghosts waited for any further actions from the patrolling Gradius fighters. The Turtletracer's systems however picked up another peculiar movement from the Gradius fighters.

"Seifer, the grads have changed direction, they are headed this way and fast! They might have spotted us!" Goddard quickly relayed to the team.

"ALL RIGHT! Time to show these dark world fiends what Weiss the Great is made of! Come on BlackFalcon baby don't let me down! WOOO!" Weiss quickly cried, almost jolting out of his seat.

"Ghosts, attack formations now, we are fighting this one out. Enable Phantom Shields!" Seifer ordered, he then followed to activate his own shield system. Each fighter craft in the squadron lit up in different parts of the ship. A light emanated from each craft and from it a green mirror image of their fighter craft came forth to fly alongside them. The image copied each of their movements and moved parallel to their direction. The cockpits then were quickly surrounded by another faintly green light aura that confirmed the crafts were completely shielded. The female virtual voice could once again be heard confirming the shield's activation.

"_Phantom Shield System Online._"

"Okay listen up! Lex and I will take vanguard. Goddard, you will enable the Turtletracer's enhanced shielding on my mark, otherwise stay behind and pick off any fighters that pass through us. Weiss and Alice, flank them from the right side and pick off as many as you two can."

"YES SIR!" They all said in unison. The roaring of jet engines quickly followed as the squadron picked up speed to meet the incoming Gradius fighters head on.

Lex started to feel the adrenaline rush through her body as she approached the enemy fighters. "You know... I take back what I said about taking a nap. I will take blasting off fiends from the sky instead." She then proceeded to flip several switches around her cockpit, enabling her weapon systems.

Every pilot held a tight grip on their flight stick as the incoming Gradius fighters zeroed in on their location. The Ghosts took on their positions and in moments both fighter groups clashed in a spectacular dogfight. Lex and Seifer took the initial assault and the Megaraptor and Harrliard boosted their speed to make a quick assault on first two Gradius fighters. Blue and Yellow lasers quickly made their way towards incoming enemy fighters who responded with Green lasers of their own. The two groups swooped past each other with incredible speed, both not suffering even a scratch. Alice and Weiss took to the sky to gain altitude and prepare for a daring flanking swoop attack.

"Goddard, they are coming your way, I'm making a pass and going into your position, standby!" Seifer ordered, he yanked on his flight stick with force to steer his Megaraptor as fast as he could. Two of the Gradius went for the Turtletracer and began to open fire, flashing green lasers quickly made contact with the Turtletracer's shields only to be deflected away. But the amount of fire intensified, putting in danger the Turtletracer's mirror image.

"Stay put, I'm almost there." Seifer said as he increased his speed on his Megaraptor. He proceeds to flip a switch on his cockpit enabling the fighter's missile system and gets a quick lock on the right side Gradius. Without further thought, he presses on the trigger and the missile fires off, in seconds it makes contact with the enemy fighter craft and the Gradius blows up in a fantastic fireball. The left sided Gradius confirms his downed companion and quickly dodges to the left, escaping the flashing red laser bolts of the Turtletracer.

"Alright Alice, it's our turn. Hit it!" Weiss said as he placed his boosters at full power and started his descent into two other Gradius Fighters going for Seifer. Alice followed shortly behind, gaining incredible speed due to her Blue Impala's light hull. Closing in on one of the enemy craft, Weiss flipped several switches activating his Blackfalcon's Phantom weaponry, his computer got a lock on the nearby Gradius and in moments the target craft began to lose power and spin out of control. A virtual voice confirmed the target:

"_Enemy Craft Disabled._"

Weiss didn't think twice on dropping the payload on the enemy fighter, his BlackFalcon letting out a stream of blue lasers that quickly engulfed it, puncturing endless amounts of holes in its hull before the craft succumbed to an internal explosion in its gas tank. With confirmation of the enemy craft down, the virtual voice once again could be heard through his headset, this was followed the projection of a second Mirror Image that quickly joined his side.

"_Enemy Craft Destruction Confirmed. Regenerating Phantom Shields._"

"BOOYA! And that's why the Blackfalcon's the best!" Weiss let out a victorious cry. Alice flew past him to catch the second Gradius. She didn't take long to catch up to the enemy with the Blue Impala's speed. In seconds the two craft were locked in a dogfight, with the Gradius dodging for his life. Alice's innocent face turned into a bloodthirsty grin as she could already feel the destruction of her enemy closer and closer. The enemy Gradius however wouldn't have it, and in split second it made a daring somersault maneuver that placed its cannons facing the Incoming Alice. With her craft being the only one not able to produce any shielding of its own, Alice cried at the sight of a rain of green lasers going for her. It was too fast and the Impala wasn't going to get out in time. She gasped for her life as the lasers were about to make contact with her hull but in that very second a Mirror Image of her craft appeared before her and took the hit.

Goddard's Turtletracer, responsible for the projection of the Mirror Image, didn't waste time to get the Gradius out of its initial path with a barrage of red laser fire. Alice took control of herself again and repositioned her craft against the enemy Gradius. It was a close call but the job wasn't done. The enemy Gradius going for another pass, Alice knew this time it was only the Impala and the enemy fighter. The two craft lunged at each other like a joust, this time however at the very last second, Alice pulled spiral like barrel roll, a stunt that would have only been able to do with a craft like the Impala. Completely catching the enemy off guard and blasting him to bits with a well timed missile.

Meanwhile, Lex's Harrliard was being tailed by the fifth Gradius. The enemy craft was closing in fast on her and in moments she could lose her Phantom Shielding and be vulnerable. She maneuvered the Harrliard left and right, trying to shake the enemy craft off but to no avail. The green lasers of the enemy Gradius had begun to make contact with the Harrliard's shields.

"Seifer, where are you!? Get this thing off me I can't shake him!" Lex cried in a plea for help. She looked frantically around her shoulders spotting the enemy craft closer and closer each time she looked. Seifer saw his companion in danger in the distance. He steered his Megaraptor towards Lex and pushed the lever to full speed, the engines blasting him towards her direction.

"Lex, I'm on my way but you to listen to what I have to say. I'm going on a straight path towards you. I need you to use your Harrliard to Teleport me right in front of you. You will lose shields for that brief second but I'll come guns blazing to blast that Gradius off your back. Once I port you immediately bank left. Got it?" Seifer ordered, trying to calm Lex down.

"Got it boss." Lex confirmed as she flipped her switches to enable her own Phantom Weapons. A virtual voice could be heard on her headset awaiting orders.

"_Phantom Weapon Online. Choose Destination and Target Craft._"

"Phantom Beast Megaraptor. One mile north of my position." Lex commanded.

"_Destination Confirmed. Commencing Teleportation of Megaraptor Class Phantom Craft in T minus 10 seconds._"

Lex held her breath as the computer made the countdown, dodging as many lasers as she could. She could see how the Phantom Shield energy was slowly being consumed for the Teleportation going on less than a mile in front of her. She could see how her Mirror Image began to lose the green color and slowly phase into what appeared to be Seifer's Megaraptor about to launch from the location. Seconds later the countdown ended, Lex let out a grunt as she yanked her flight stick to the left with all her power and Seifer's Megaraptor was successfully teleported, coming out guns blazing and blasting the enemy Gradius out of the sky. Lex let out a deep sigh as she confirmed the target was destroyed. To Lex's surprise the virtual voice confirmed regeneration of her Phantom Shields.

"_Phantom Weapon usage detected. BlackFalcon Class Phantom Craft. Regenerating Phantom Shields._"

Only one Gradius craft remained but Seifer couldn't detect it. He looked at all directions trying to visual spot the enemy craft. Goddard's voice however came on the channel with a sense of desperation.

"The last Gradius is making a break for it! He's going max speed, if he escapes he is sure to tell our location!" Goddard cried out.

"I got this one." Seifer said as he flipped the switches on his cockpit to enable his Phantom weapon systems. As the Megaraptor's shields faded away, two huge boosters appeared behind the Megaraptor and a new pair of missiles took the place hold of those initially on board. The virtual voice through his headset confirmed its activation.

"_Phantom Weapon System Online. Scream Jets Enabled. Supersonic Missiles Enabled._"

Seifer pushed the lever full swing and the craft's engines began to glow with a bright energy, Seifer could feel the energy accumulating around him. He let out a deep sigh before his Megaraptor's massive scream jets went off and ripped through the sound barrier towards fleeing Gradius. In seconds he got a lock on the now nearby craft. Missiles were sent and in less than a second, the explosion confirming the destruction of the last Gradius could be seen. Seifer's Megaraptor slowly decreased in speed as he made a wide pass back to his squad's location. It was over, his first live combat experience and he made it. The adrenaline rushed through his veins like a violent river.

"WOOOO! Home base clear the landing zone cause Ghost Squadron has defeated the Grads this day!" Weiss cheered from his cockpit as he watched the last Gradius succumb to flames.

"Good Job Ghosts but that was a close Call. We have to report back to base. And I don't know how command will react to this but nobody's safe. I'm putting this on the report." Seifer said as he tried to calm down his adrenaline levels from the recent jump. With the zone clear, the Megaraptor and the rest of the Phantom Beast craft then headed for base as quickly as they could.

Seifer's squadron was stationed on one of many Aircraft Carriers positioned over the massive Chaotic Sea, the massive water vessels were equipped with all sorts of technological equipment to serve as a standalone headquarters for Cyber World's air force and it also housed many of the air corps Phantom Beast Craft. After the Dark World forces attacked many of the inland Air Fields, the remaining Cyber World forces were forced to rely on these ships for housing and took their forces to the seas. Other Cyber World air forces took to the skies and are stationed on massive aircraft denominated Dracossack class airships and the lesser Aerosguin class aerial carrier. Seifer's carrier named _The Valiant_ is among the largest in the Cyber World navy and is home to over 30 different Craft.

Seifer had just returned from turning in the report to his commanding officer. He stopped by Lex's dorm to check up that everything was alright after the recent fight with the Gradius squadron. Lex opened up but she could clearly be seen with a disturbed face. Not wanting to look at Seifer's eyes directly she kept to her business of folding her clothes. Seifer simply leaned on her doorstep, trying to study her emotions. The sudden silence however started to annoy Lex and brought the words out of her mouth.

"Are you just gonna stand there staring at me or what?" She asked.

"Sorry, I was just trying to find out how you felt. I'm sorry about what happened back there. It was a close call, but I'm glad you could figure out what I meant and trusted me for it."

Lex gave no answer and kept folding her clothes. Seifer simply continued.

"The sarge was obviously upset about what we did. He's sending Stealthray squadrons on patrol to make sure no more fiends are around the area. He personally thinks this is the last base not uncovered by them. I think however, we did impress him. We might have a future mission soon. Who knows, we might even go against that Rail Cannon."

Lex stared at him with cold eyes. "Going against that Rail Cannon means seeing the last of your petty little life. If this is the only thing you will talk about with me, you will have to excuse me as I have lots of clothes to tend to." Her demeanor created an uncomfortable silence which Seifer simply nodded and made his way out. He was stopped however by a sudden grab on his arm.

"Hey... I never said it. But, thanks..." Lex quietly said as she let go of the arm. Seifer smiled and kept going. He shortly reached a door which leads him outside of the complex and into the runway where his Megaraptor was stationed. In front of him, a wide and thin black craft with uplifted tips and a long tail made its way into the runway. By the looks of it, it was part of the Stealthray class craft that the sarge was talking about. Seifer stared at it as it blasted off the runway. With the road clear, he moved towards his Megaraptor. Walking past a black and white Helicopter with the traits of a wolf on its cockpit, none other than a Tetherwolf class Phantom craft, Seifer finally reached his Megaraptor and placed a hand on its cold steel hull.

He proceeded to stare at the vast ocean. He could see a massive sea monster raging a Storm in the distance. Seifer was sure that the monster was none other than the rare Neo Daedalus, he sighed at such a sight. The monster reminded him of the conflict against the dark world fiends. He envisioned himself as the raging Storm that would end the conflict. He was confident that the war could be won but at the same time, he felt he was alone in all this. He was starting to feel the disbelief in his comrades, the signs of defeat. Seifer rested his head on the Megaraptor's hull and sighed in frustration. In that very moment however, the raptor's cockpit opened and a slight glow of energy could be seen from inside the cockpit as if it had turned on by itself. Seifer didn't panic, he knew it was a sign, his raptor felt the same way and now he wasn't alone. Seifer smiled, climbed to close the cockpit once again and patted the Megaraptor.

"Thanks bud." He said before leaving back to his quarters. The Megaraptor's eyes flashing as he closed the door behind him.

The following morning, Seifer's eyes slowly opened. His ears could hear something rather unusual, alarms blaring. As his eyes opened up completely and he fully awoke, he could in fact identify alarms were the sound he was hearing. The noise was then followed by a sudden shake of the ship that almost tumbled him out of his bunk bed. He could hear the footsteps of the ship's crew members storming out of the hallways, screams and shouts faintly heard over the loud alarm sounds. The door to his dorm suddenly opened and from it Weiss came forth with a panicked expression.

"Seifer! Wake up! The ship's under attacked by fiends, they got Grads, Jades, Brits and Falchions! It's a whole army! We got to go now!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Seifer said as he quickly placed on his flight jacket and made for the exit. Once outside, he could clearly see the scene as everyone ran for their lives, the ship continued to shake more violently and he could now hear the clear sounds of gunfire outside as well as Jet Engine sounds. "Where's Lex, Alice and Goddard, are they okay?" Seifer asked.

"Alice and Goddard are outside, I haven't seen Lex anywhere." Weiss answered.

Seifer gripped his fist in disappointment. He looked to his sides as he pondered the situation. He then faces Weiss and places a hand on his shoulder. "Look for Lex on the west wing and if you find her go for the runway, in 10 minutes we meet at the runway with or without her, understand?!"

Weiss simply nodded in confirmation before storming out on Seifer's orders. Seifer let out a deep sigh as the ship shook violently once more. With no time to waste he made for the east wing in an attempt to look for the last member of his squadron. Through every hallway he searched, he found nothing more than utter panic and injured sailors. Some halls were darkened with loss of power and others difficult to go through. In the middle of his search he stumbles with a familiar figure.

"Sarge! Are you okay sir?" Seifer asked.

"I'm fine, what the hell are you doing down here!? You are supposed to be at the runway already!" He replied, clearly not happy to see him here.

"I'm sorry, I'm looking for Lex, and she's nowhere to be found." Seifer replied, any further thoughts though were quickly interrupted when one of the walls down the hallway bursted open, the sound of fiendish creatures could be heard coming through the dust and smoke. The ship was clearly being invaded. Seifer was paralyzed in fear, not knowing what to expect or do next. A tight grip on his shoulder however shook him out of it.

"Kid, get out of here. And take this." The sarge said, placing a document on his hand. "Give this to Major Orville at the _Swordedge_. He will know what to do with it. NOW GO! Lex is okay son! I saw her making for the runway." The sarge then turned Seifer around and pushed him forward. Seifer looked back but the sarge's stare let him know he was to be left alone. The fiendish creatures could clearly be seen coming through the hallway. The sarge made one last nod telling Seifer to make a run for it before he turned his back on him and faced the incoming fiends. Seifer ran, it was the last time he saw the sarge ever again. After a trek through the shaking ship, Seifer finally reached the runway. Weiss, Lex, Alice and Goddard were nearby waiting for him. As he looked upwards into the sky he could see the speeding Dark World army's aircraft making circles around _the Valiant_. The runway was burned and punctured with holes all around. Several craft could be seen making an escape for it.

A PA system could be heard giving out orders. "_Scramble all fighters! Repeat! Scramble all fighters!_"

Seifer reunited himself with his team and made his best to assess the situation. The team just stared at him with fearful eyes, everyone was confused, everyone was scared, and none of them knew what to do. Seifer tried to calm down. He knew he wasn't getting anywhere if he stayed one more minute in the runway, the fiends were about to run over their location any instant.

"Okay listen up Ghosts! Lex and I will go for any fighter craft we can find. Weiss, take Alice and Goddard on the nearest Tetherwolf or Coltwing you can find and make a run for it. Me and Lex will give you cover fire. We have to do this fast. Don't go out in the open, take cover around craft."

Everyone simply nodded. Lex and Seifer then ran for the nearest craft they could find. Lex found a still functional Harrliard not far from her location. Once inside the ship, Lex flipped all the switches and started a quick but dangerous start to the engines. Her Harrliard's engines roared as the ship slowly took off the ground and made for the skies. Lex could only hope Seifer found his ship in time before the dark world forces converged on her and blasted her from the sky. Seifer also found a Harrliard but as he reached for it, an enemy Gradius blasted it to bits, sending him crashing into the floor. The explosion dazed him, and his vision was blurred as well as his hearing. He used all his strength to recover, once he stood up he gazed around the runway for another craft. He found his Megaraptor still standing on the back of the runway.

Seifer makes a run for it, trying to reach the craft in time. But the onslaught was far from over. Behind him, he could hear the sounds of an enemy Gradius locking its weapons on him. The Gradius could be heard coming closer and closer and in moments laser fire could be heard reaching for his back. Seifer increased his sprint, his adrenaline fueling him with newfound energy as he could feel the ground right behind him spark off with the contact of laser beams. However it was too fast, he wasn't going to make it, he could see the Megaraptor so close to him, freedom in his grasp yet so far. Lex however would not have any of it, and in moments she lunged at the Gradius with her Harrliard in a barrage of laser fire that punctured the ship in half, exploding shortly after.

Seifer didn't waste time in hopping onto the Megaraptor, flipping all the switches and starting the jet engines. He opened up the channel with Lex's Harrliard.

"Lex, listen up, I need cover fire as I make my way into the runway. Keep all these craft off me. Do you see Weiss and the others?"

"Affirmative Seifer. Weiss, Alice and Goddard have made it to the Tetherwolf. I suggest you draw out the fighters to you as you get off the runway. That should clear the way for Weiss to Storm out on the Tetherwolf. Hurry up though I don't think I have much time, they are too many of them!" Lex quickly replied. She then grunts as she dodges a swarm of incoming Dark World fighters who almost showered her in a hail of green lasers.

Seifer's Megaraptor quickly gets on the runway and its engines roar as it gets ready for liftoff. He could see as several enemy craft took notice of his presence and started to gain altitude for a swooping attack on his aircraft. Seifer wasted no time, he pushed on the lever and placed his engines on full speed. His aircraft shook violently as it gained speed and momentum. The enemy fighters were now almost on him and ready to fire their weapons.

"Lex, here they come, it's your time to shine. Draw them off me." Seifer ordered. In seconds he saw Lex's Harrliard Storm in his path, the enemy fighters took notice and steered off to chase her. "Weiss, if you can hear me, it's now or never, scramble that Tetherwolf!"

"I got you boss, Weiss has left the building!" Weiss replied as he started the engines on his Tetherwolf and with great speed, sped off the runway. Lex and Seifer's distraction worked and the fighters didn't bother chasing him.

With his confirmation, Seifer went all out on the Megaraptor's engines and blasted off the runway. He quickly enabled his Phantom Shields and steered towards Lex to pick off the chasing fighters. With a couple of them down, Lex could break off the attacking squadron and make her escape. Seifer followed shortly and in moments the team was safe. Seifer looked back at the _Valiant_ and a horrific image he would have never imagined seeing came to pass. A bright flash of light came upon the _Valiant_, and in a matter of seconds a powerful explosion erupted and the ship was engulfed in flames and shortly sank into the depths of the Ocean. The shockwave of the blast so powerful that Seifer's Megaraptor began to shake violently and almost lose control, below him massive waves started to form, the power was simply incredible. Seifer had seen firsthand the power of nothing else than the Super dreadnaught Rail Cannon Gustav Max, it was here and that meant the bulk of Dark World's army wasn't far behind. His anger took over as he tightly gripped his flight stick, remembering about the Sarge's last words. But those same thoughts reminded him of his mission, he couldn't go back and fight or he would put the sarge's efforts in vain. He decided to let out a deep sigh and relax.

Once out of harm's way, Seifer was finally joined by Weiss and Lex. The Tetherwolf and Harrliard flanked his Megaraptor. Seifer opened the channel to relay the new instructions.

"Ghosts, listen up. We are making for the Swordedge. I have some important Intel I need to give to Major Orville, the commanding officer. It's a Dracossack warship so we should have no problems refueling and stationing ourselves there. It's gonna be our new home."

"I never thought they would find us there... this is looking really bad." Goddard said from the Tetherwolf.

"I know, but we can't give up the fight now. If this document the sarge gave me is the key to our counterattack, we have to give it a chance. If anything, the Major will know what to do with the information." Seifer replied before closing the channel. He opened a private one with Lex, he glanced over at the Harrliard in an attempt to catch her eye. "I guess I owe you one."

Lex smiled. "Let's just call it even." She glanced briefly towards Seifer's Megaraptor before doing a slight nod.

"Very well." He replied.

The three craft kept a steady flight through the now empty sky. The sun was bright as ever, so peaceful, as if they had reached some sort of no-war zone. In the distance, Seifer could make up some sort of massive vessel on a perpendicular path from his location. A closer look confirmed the vessel to be a Dracossack class warship, titanic in size, with a wingspan easily of five miles. Three gigantic engines on each wing drove the warship forward. Unlike other Dracossack craft though, Seifer could see a peculiar blade shaped cockpit on the front of the vessel with the signature maw that gave Dracossacks their name. A black and white paint scheme confirmed it, it was clearly the _Swordedge_.

"_Approaching. Dracossack Class Warship. Swordedge._" The virtual voice could be heard from the headset.

"Sophia, open a channel with the Dracossack, to request docking." Seifer ordered his computer.

"_Requesting Channel Entry. Granted. Channel Open._"

"Megaraptor this is Lieutenant Wright of the Swordedge. State your business."

"Lieutenant. Requesting Permission to dock in the ship's hangar. We hail from the Carrier _Valiant_ which has just been attacked. We are the survivors. I also have Intel strictly for Major Orville."

"Permission Granted Megaraptor. Proceed to Dock Bay 4E for refueling and disembark."

Seifer and the rest of the ghosts then did as ordered. Inside the Dracossack's docking bay they felt a sense of security. As he climbed off his Megaraptor, he could see the rest of his team huddled together in the distance. He smiled, wanting to join them, but before he could a group of the ship's crew intercepted him. Leading the group was a tall white man in white and blue uniform, with raven hair and grey eyes. He stepped forth to shake Seifer's hand. Seifer kept a cautious face as his hand met his.

"You must be Seifer. I am Lieutenant Wright and may I welcome you to the _Swordedge._ Major Orville awaits your presence in the navigation room. Let us escort you to him, no need to worry your friends will be as well. I will personally ask haste though, every second we lose is one more step to losing this war."

Seifer simply nodded and followed the man to the navigation room. Inside, Seifer stood in awe at the massive technological marvel that it was. Large computer screens filled the room with maps, radar information and other logistics to help the crew navigate the warship through the skies. Several dozens of personnel walked through the room relaying Intel and orders to one another. In the middle of it all was a stern looking man, supervising it all in his command seat. As soon as the man acknowledged the presence of Seifer he stood up from his chair and walked towards the young man. The serious officer much like his lieutenant towered over Seifer. His uniform was unique among the crew, two lavish gold shoulder pads adorned his grey winter coat and several medals near his breast pocket showed his numerous acts of gallantry and leadership.

"Ah finally. Glad to finally meet you in person Seifer. Major Orville, captain of the _Swordedge_ and head commander of the 2nd Air fleet. But enough with the pleasantries, I'll cut to the chase. My lieutenant has informed me you have some very important Intel from your carrier ship _Valiant_?"

Seifer quickly handed him the documents from the sarge. The major took them but refrained from reading its contents for now. He stared at Seifer with his stern eyes.

"It pleases me to see that the valiant efforts of your commanding officer did not go in vain. Seifer, you will see for yourself how these documents will change the face of the war. If you could please follow me." Orville said as he turned towards the lower level of the room. In its very center a large platform rested, inside hologram projectors made out a mirror image of the world and its various locations. Orville took a position around the platform closest to the controls. Seifer and Lieutenant Wright joined on opposite sides of the platform. The major then proceeded to zoom in on the map, drawing out a specific portion of it.

"According to the information here, our naval forces were indeed spotted by dark world scouts moments before the attack on the _Valiant_. The rail cannon Gustav Max was not that far behind and was able to fire upon several of our carriers stationed on the Chaotic Sea from the mainland. Many of them didn't even see it coming. Your crew was lucky to be attacked by the dark world fighters first."

Seifer quickly remembered about the powerful blast that obliterated the _Valiant_, his face shook with anger. Orville took notice but didn't do anything about it, he felt it was okay for the young boy to let go of his emotions while he could. The major continued with the briefing.

"Now here is the interesting part. Your carrier's crew was carrying an enhanced sonar and radar device that allowed the ship's crew to gather important information on a large radius. The men in that ship actually collected a lot of information regarding the future movements of dark world forces in the nearby sectors. The real reason dark world sent fighters after the _Valiant_ was to intercept any attempts to escape with the information and buy time for the Rail Cannon to recharge its weapons. Once the rail cannon was recharged the vanguard force had done their job and they were as expendable as a grunt. Luckily you and your friends escaped, and with the information they wanted."

Seifer pondered the situation but he was starting to understand where this was all going towards. He wanted to make sure any doubts were cleared though and he threw Orville a question.

"So what would be our next move Major?"

"Glad you asked that Seifer. The info in these documents has given me a lot of insight on the dark world forces future movements. It seems they have an ultimate target in their hands." Orville zooms out the map and zooms in on a distant location. "The Cyber Machina facilities in Sector 18. These facilities are currently being used to create our future weapon against Dark World, the Cyber Dragon. It's the best weapon we have ever created in our realm Seifer, and the Dark World intends to snag it out of our hands at all costs. They are going to use the Gustav Max to siege the facilities and ultimately get away with the dragons. To be honest, I don't want to imagine what their twisted scientist Kozaky is capable of doing with such powerful technology. That is why we are going to mount an assault against Gustav Max before they arrive at Sector 18." Orville then zooms out the map again and zooms in on a nearby location. "Sector 14 is filled with very difficult terrain for the Gustav Max to get across, it is by far the largest obstacle in the super weapon's path. It is here were we will use full air superiority to take it down."

"What would be the attack plan?" Seifer asked.

"I will discuss that along with Lieutenant Wright at the briefing. My men have separated dormitories for you and your squad. Take a short rest, briefing starts at 1800." Orville then signaled Wright to lead Seifer to his dormitories. The pair left the navigation room. Orville stayed surveying the hologram looking for any additional details. After a quick survey he went back to his chair.

"Set course for the rendezvous." He ordered. The massive Dracossack slowly turned and made its way towards the target with a roar of its engines.

Inside the dormitories, Seifer reunited with his squad mates. They were all anxious for whatever news he had for them, except for Lex who remained on a corner pondering on other things.

"So boss, what's up? What did they tell you?" Weiss quickly asked, impatient to hear what he was already imagining.

"We are having our first combat mission briefing at 1800. Rest up and get ready to present yourselves at the Docking bat at that time. It appears we are in for a big mission, possibly the biggest one in the history of this war. We are going against Gustav Max." He ended in a cold tone. Seifer was clearly not happy to give the news so soon. Weiss, Alice and Goddard let out a surprising gasp. Lex smashed her fist against the wall in anger, clearly the news she didn't want to hear.

"Boss, I would normally be excited about this but we are going against Gustav Max in our very first mission?! Who do they think us to be cannon fodder?!" Weiss commented with a slight of panic in his voice.

"That's exactly what they are thinking of us you idiot!" Lex quickly interrupted.

"Lex calm down, we might not even be asked to go into the fray of battle. They have better trained squadrons for this. We are not the only Phantom Beast craft pilots in Cyber World I can assure you that." Seifer said trying cool down the situation.

"Seifer, what do you really think is going on here?" Goddard tried to ask in a calm manner.

Seifer wanted to answer with something concrete, but the truth was he didn't know what to expect from the Major. "Goddard, to be honest, I don't know. I will say this though. We signed up to fight against the dark world threat. We have been given the opportunity to help this world in the biggest fight in its history and we are now backing down? Regardless of our combat experience we have to stand up against the forces of the enemy. We can't just sit here and watch as they consume everything in their path." As these words came out of his mouth, his squad mates listened, their eyes filling with inspiration. "I have sworn to take the fight to our enemies till my last breath. I will win this war or die on the battlefield, it is my destiny. And it's also the one I expected from every single one of you. If you are indeed a member of Ghost Squadron, I will see you at the briefing at 1800. That is all." Seifer ended, before leaving the dormitories. His teammates pondered the situation, even Lex who at first felt greatly against the mission. Seifer was right, it was now or never.

At the briefing, everyone was present. Seifer held a corner of the room alongside his squad mates as they all listened what Lieutenant Wright and Major Orville had to say. Wright had started the briefing of the area, its benefits and the fleet's positioning. He then made way for Orville to relay the bulk of the information. The Major pulled out a massive red colored hologram that projected an imaginary battlefield. In its very center, the massive rail cannon Gustav Max stood as the symbol of tyranny and conquest. Several smaller projections representing the Dark World's ground and air forces also appeared around it. They moved around the map periodically.

"This is a current radar frequency from sector 14. As you can see, the Gustav Max is being heavily guarded by all sorts of Dark World weaponry. Due to the terrain advantage on this sector we will be relying strictly on air to Surface superiority tactics which should render the ground forces irrelevant for this attack. The _Swordedge_ along with the other five Dracossacks will begin a massive bombardment on the Dark World's ground forces to eliminate any risks of anti air weaponry being used against us. Specter Squadron's Hamstrats will follow up the attack with an aerial bombardment on the Gustav Max shields, this should soften up the rail cannon enough for an in-depth attack with our fighter craft. Ghost and Geist Squadrons are tasked with the escort of these Hamstrats as they will be easy targets for enemy fighters."

The news of their task in the battle gave Seifer a brief sense of security. It was an easy yet important task. He glanced at his teammates and could sense similar feelings among them. Lex glanced back at him and simply gave a smile.

"Once the Hamstrats are clear, Howl, Soul and Spirit squadrons will begin the attack on the Gustav Max. Expect intense aerial resistance. The bulk of the Dark World's air force will be present in this battle. The Gustav Max is also armed with countless gun emplacements that will provide suppressing fire to halt your advance. Our target though is the Gustav Max's cannon core. Thanks to the extensive Intel caught by the members of the craft carrier _Valiant_ we have found a weakness on the super weapon. The cannon core of the rail cannon will be exposed during this battle as it will be used against us. The core can be found along a large trench that goes through the center of the train component of the rail cannon. A well aimed missile impact on this core will put the cannon permanently out of commission. Their primary targets however will be our Dracossacks due to how close we will be to the weapon. Unfortunately my engineers have informed me that our Phantom Shielding won't last long against the power of such a weapon. We have to act fast before any of our craft is pulverized by the rail cannon. One less dracossack in this fight means less coverage for our Phantom Shield generators. Any questions?"

The room was silent. Partly due to the anxiety towards the approaching assault. Seeing as everything was in order, Orville dismissed the pilots.

"Very well, man your ships, we will be launching once the Swordedge reaches the rendezvous point. Dismissed."

The room quickly emptied, Seifer made for the docking bay. He wanted to be alone with his Megaraptor. The bay appeared empty, only a few mechanics could be seen working on other aircraft. As Seifer approached his jet fighter a familiar face could be seen resting its back on the hull.

"Lex, well I definitely didn't expect to see you here. How did you even know I was coming here?" Seifer asked.

"You are always straddle off on your own after a briefing. I figured I might find you here. You seem to be infatuated with this plane after all." She said raising an eyebrow.

"Of course." Seifer said a little embarrassed. "So... are you ready for what's about to come. You seemed suddenly okay with everything." Seifer finished as he got closer to Lex.

"It was nothing... simply... I realized I was wrong all this time. You... you made me realize the real purpose I'm here. And... I guess I'm grateful about that."

"Don't worry about it I-" Seifer got interrupted by Lex's finger on his lips.

"You don't need to say anymore... now if you excuse me I have a meeting with a plane of my own to catch." Lex said as she left Seifer's side.

"Do you have any plans after the battle?" Seifer asked before Lex left the area completely. The question made her stop in her tracks.

"I think it's a bit too early to ask such a question don't you think? Nevertheless, you are cute Seifer... but not that cute. _Yet_." She said before she continued her pace towards the exit of the docking bay. Seifer simply smiled and glanced over at his Megaraptor, caressing its hull. He felt ready.

Hours later, the _Swordedge_ had arrived at the rendezvous point with the rest of the Dracossacks. All pilots aboard were now boarding their respective crafts. In moments, hundreds of different Mecha Phantom Beast crafts launched from the numerous bays of the _Swordedge_. Ghost Squadron's members each went on their signature craft with Seifer on the Megaraptor, Lex on the Harrliard, Weiss on the BlackFalcon, Alice on the Blue Impala and finally Goddard on the Turtletracer. The skies were bright and clear, signs of a beautiful day. The massive _Swordedge_ now flanked Seifer's right side, he took a moment to appreciate in awe the sheer size of the warship. All sorts of Mecha Phantom Beast craft surrounded Seifer and his squad mates, all ready for one final assault on the Dark World's ultimate weapon of destruction.

"All wings report in." Major Orville's voice could be heard throughout all pilot headsets. In moments Seifer's headset was bombarded with the different call signs.

"_Specter Leader standing by._"

"_Howl leader standing by._"

"_Geist leader standing by._"

"_Soul leader standing by._"

"_Spirit leader standing by._"

Seifer let out a small sigh before giving out his own call sign. "Ghost leader standing by."

"All craft enable phantom shields. Generators will start in one minute. Specter One do you have a visual?" Orville asked.

The clouds were thick but soon started to clear out. As the Hamstrats closed in on the last patch of clouds, the massive machine that was the Gustav Max came into view. It was surrounded by an armada of ground vehicles which flanked all sides of the gigantic rail cannon. A fleet of thousands of fighter craft of all models also escorted the super weapon. It didn't take long for Seifer to see the Rail Cannon himself. He could see how the juggernaut consisted of an almost never-ending dark steel train with the three mile long cannon at its very center. Seifer's fears were once again taking hold of him, he quickly struggled to regain control, thinking on the mission at hand, the sarge, and Orville but most of all, his teammates.

"This is Specter One, we have visual confirmation of target. Ready for attack run."

"Alright, we will clear out the ground forces below with the Dracossack artillery units. That should give you a clear path towards the Gustav Max and allow you to commence the bombing run." Orville said before closing the channel and turning to his navigators. "Prepare the Dracossack for orbital bombardment. Sophia, enable Phantom weaponry." A virtual voice confirmed his commands.

"_Dracossack Phantom Weapon Systems Online. Targets Are Locked._"

"Open fire!" Orville cried out. In seconds, several large cannons surfaced from the _Swordedge's_ hull, they positioned themselves towards the targets. A bright surge of energy started to form from each barrel and soon after powerful laser beams were shot from the cannons at lightning speed. As soon as the lasers made contact with the ground, a powerful explosion followed by a massive shockwave blast pulverized the Dark World's ground forces. The other Dracossacks quickly followed and the ground beneath Gustav Max shook from the onslaught that made up the orbital bombardment from the great warships.

With most of the ground targets destroyed, Orville prepared himself for the next step in the plan. "Specter one you are clear for your bombing run."

"Roger that." The small fleet of green colored Hamstrats made their slow yet steady decent towards the Gustav Max. Seifer and crew stood close to their comrades, ready for anything the Dark World forces through at them.

"Ghosts keep your eyes open for those fighters." Seifer relayed to his team but it didn't take long for the Megaraptor's sensors to pick up on the incoming enemy craft.

"_WARNING! WARNING! Incoming enemy aircraft detected. Jade Knight Class. Gradius Class. Blue Thunder T-45 Class. FalchionB Class.__Lord__British__Class._"

"They have the entire army out there. Did you hear that, a Brit. It has to be the leader craft." Weiss commented.

"It sure is. Weiss, you are with me on this one. We take on the leader. Lex, Alice and Goddard stay on the stragglers. Heads up guys here they come!"

In moments, a swarm of all kinds of fighter craft began their assault on the Hamstrats and their escort. Seifer's cockpit was quickly filled with endless flashes of incoming laser fire that in seconds made contact with his Phantom shields. The Megaraptor shook from the intense laser fire.

"I'm going right through them Weiss, cover me." Seifer said as he spun his Megaraptor on a barrel roll to minimize the contact with laser fire. An entire squadron of Gradius fighters went right past him, failing to engulf his craft in the initial swarm.

"I'm right with you boss." Weiss said as he pulled the trigger on his flight stick. Unleashing a rain of lasers that clipped the wings of several Gradius craft that flew past right him as well. In seconds, both pilots were out on open sky again and made maneuvers to be right behind the Gradius squadron.

"Stay on the leader Weiss and draw them away from the Hamstrats." Seifer ordered as he locked his sights on the squadron leader. He fired several lasers to keep the enemy craft off track and away from the Hamstrats. Then once he had a lock, he fired the missile away, blasting the squadron leader right out of the sky. Without the leader, the Gradius squadron quickly dispersed through the battlefield, one by one picked off by other craft.

"Nice aim boss, let's find another group of fighters to pick on." Weiss commented as he steered his BlackFalcon towards a group of Hamstrats about to be under attacked by enemy craft.

"Can't agree more." Seifer replied as he swung the lever for full speed after Weiss.

Meanwhile Lex steered her Harrliard through the chaos that had quickly ensued on the sky. Laser bolts constantly hitting her shields, her ship was taking a ton of punishment. She noticed a pack of Jade Knights going for a group of Hamstrats stragglers.

"Alice, listen up, you are up girl. I'll port you right behind them, ready?" Lex asked as she readied up her Phantom weapons for the upcoming attack. Her Harrliard's mirror image now starting to head over to the speeding Jade Knights.

"I'm ready Lex, throw me at them." Alice confirmed as she finished off an enemy FalchionB fighter with a stream of blue lasers. She readied her missiles for the port. Lex upon confirmation started the teleportation on her Mirror Image and in seconds the Blue Impala came guns blazing behind the pack of Jade Knights. Blasting off two craft with immediately launched missiles and two more with accurate laser fire. Lex finished the group off with her own missiles and the Hamstrats continued unharmed. In moments, the bombing run commenced and thousands of seismic charges dropped on the Gustav Max's hull, ripping its shields apart.

The Dark World juggernaut would not go down without a fight, and as soon as the Mecha Phantom craft were in range, a heavy assault of anti air weaponry from the thousands of gun emplacements around the train sections fell upon the Hamstrats and other phantom craft. Several Hamstrats quickly went down from the incredible onslaught that took down their mirror images in seconds rendering them without shields instantly. Seifer and the rest of the ghosts quickly realized they were also in danger from the sudden assault. They refocused their efforts in simply dodging the thick wall of anti air lasers and weaponry that the Gustav Max sent their way. Seifer was literally pushing his Megaraptor to the limits of its power. His flight stick trembled as he gained tremendous altitude in efforts of straying away from the anti air assault's path.

"_Swordedge_! This is Specter One. We are under heavy fire. I'm retreating the Hamstrats before we los- AHHHH!" Specter leader cried before his Hamstrat was consumed by a shower of laser fire. The Mecha Phantom craft quickly went on a flaming spiral downfall, finally crashing on one of the Gustav Max's many freight carts.

"Bring the _Swordedge_ closer to the Gustav Max. We need to draw out its firepower away from our craft." Orville commanded. The ship fired up its engines and began a slow descent into the battlefield. The Gustav Max however reacted to Orville's plan in a way he didn't expect. The massive Rail Cannon now started to take aim at the approaching Dracossack. Alarms blared inside the navigation room as the _Swordedg_e's systems detected an incoming blast from the cannon.

"It's too soon! Shields at full power now!" Orville cried as he braced for impact. The Gustav Max's cannon now started to glow inside the barrel with a bright green flash, the flash got more and more intense until finally a dense, uniform laser blast came forth from the cannon. The Swordedge shook violently upon impact with the powerful blast. Several of the computer screens went black, others on and off. Orville was literally thrown out of his seat.

"Sophia, status report!" Orville said as he recovered from his fall.

"_WARNING! Shields are at 20% Power. Critical Status. 5 Minutes Till Gustav Max's Weapons Are Fully Charged._"

"Everyone listen up! We have a limited window for our attack on the Gustav Max before its Rail Cannon recharges for another attack. All craft, begin your assault on the Gustav Max's core trench now!" Orville said, giving the final order. He then faced his navigators. "Tell the other Dracossacks to form a perimeter around the Gustav Max, we have to keep drawing out its firepower away from our craft. Begin orbital strikes on the Gustav Max's weapon emplacements, I want its defenses pulverized!"

"What about us sir. Our shields can't withstand another attack from the Rail Cannon." Asked one of the nearby navigators, clearly nervous about the situation.

"We will stay. Our boys need us now more than ever. We will die here if it's needed be." He replied with a stern look upon the navigator. Orville's subordinate simply nodded and went back to his station.

Back in the airspace around the Gustav Max, Weiss frantically dodged the never-ending stream of anti air weaponry that came out of the Gustav Max. But behind him a peculiar craft catches up to him and beings to open fire in an attempt to take him down where he stands. Bright lights surrounded Weiss as he attempted to dodge every shot from the pursuing craft.

"Where the hell this guy came from?" He asked himself as he continued to steer his craft around, trying to shake it off.

Goddard spotted Weiss being chased and quickly got to him over the headset. "Weiss, watch out you have a Brit behind you. That's the leader. Stay put I'm coming your way!" He then steers his Turtletracer towards the Lord British fighter and takes aim.

"Damn, this guy is good! I can barely take him off my back! Where are you Goddard, I need you to scare this guy away from me!"

The Lord British fighter kept a relentless pursuit, its weapons getting closer and closer to the target. Seconds later his weapons got a hit confirm on the Blackfalcon's hull and the ship started smoking. Weiss was caught completely off guard.

"What the? I had my shields up! Crap.. Goddard I'm hit, I'm hit!"

"He's using Vulcan weapons, that's pure projectile, your shields are no good against that. I'm almost there Weiss but he's too fast." Goddard finally gets a lock on the leader and unleashes a payload of lasers unto the Lord British fighter, giving Weiss a brief window of escape by forcing the brit to go off course. Surprisingly the British fighter doesn't resume the attack and instead goes towards the Gustav Max. Several other enemy craft were also doing the same, they were being drawn to something.

"How bad are you Weiss?" Goddard asked getting closer to the BlackFalcon.

"I'm okay, fix me up will ya? And what are the fiends doing now?" Weiss asked.

Seifer interrupted. "Ghosts we have new orders, the Hamstrats will retreat from the battle for now, and all available craft are requested to take the battle to the Gustav Max. We will provide cover for the squadrons tasked with going into the Gustav Max's core trench. Let's make sure this battle ends today."

"Yes sir!" All squad mates said in unison. The five Phantom Beast Craft then descended upon the Gustav Max following the rest of the squadrons. They were soon fired upon with all the might of the Gustav Max, as well as hundreds of enemy craft that now attempted to swarm the incoming Phantom fighters.

"Ghosts! We are coming in hot! Shields at maximum!" Seifer ordered, flipping several switches on his cockpit to power up his own phantom shields. Gradius, Jade Knights, Blue Thunders, and Falchions stormed through the Phantom Beast crafts, unleashing their full weaponry on the incoming attackers. Flight formations were broken and the sky around the Gustav Max quickly turned into a chaotic battlefield of dogfights with all sorts of craft going at each other's throats and the Gustav Max's gun emplacements shooting at any stray craft their reticules could get sights of. Among the chaos, Weiss spots once again the red and white hull of the Lord British fighter.

"Goddard, look it's that brit again. Cover me, I'm showing this guy who's boss!" Weiss said as he placed the engines on his BlackFalcon on full speed towards the British fighter. Goddard's Turtletracer wasn't far behind. The Lord British fighter also took notice of the approaching enemies and quickly changed course towards Weiss' BlackFalcon. Two Victory Viper class fighters served as wingmen to the Lord British fighter. In seconds both groups clashed and Weiss was locked on a dogfight with the brit, maneuvering his craft to get a lock with his phantom weapons. The victory vipers proceeded to go for Goddard, identifying him as an easily dismissible threat. Goddard however showed them the complete opposite, using his Phantom weapons he withstood the assault from the two viper craft and retaliated with missile blasts of his own, ripping in half one of the vipers. Goddard was now on control and took to the chase, the second viper was then dismissed shortly after with a second missile attack.

Weiss unleashed his own lasers onto his enemy, trying to zone the brit fighter for the lock on. The brit fighter pilot however was giving him a hard time and with great finesse outmaneuvers him into a somersault, putting the enemy fighter face to face with the BlackFalcon. The brit didn't waste any time in unleashing his payload of Vulcan gunfire and Weiss was forced to break heavily to the right, putting the Lord British fighter behind him in the dogfight.

"Crap how did he do that?! I have never seen such a fighter pilot!" Weiss cried out as he was on the dodge game once again. The enemy craft's weapons hammering on his back. Help came to Weiss though as Alice positioned her Blue Impala right behind the Lord British fighter and fired away, hitting the craft on the left wing. The brit steered to the left in an attempt to escape.

"Good job Alice, stay on him, he's mine now!" Weiss said as he steered his craft towards the brit and started the lock on his Phantom Weapons. Seconds later the lock was achieved and Weiss had a clear shot.

"Time's up pretty boy!" He said as he pulled on the trigger and unleashed the ion bolts that shut down the Lord British fighter and made it spin out of control. A followed up missile strike made the finale with a glorious explosion. Weiss cheered victoriously.

"I saw that Weiss, great job." Seifer commented. He glanced at the Gustav Max's rail cannon core and noticed it was closing the gap. Signs of an almost fully recharged cannon, they were running out of time.

"Lex are you with me?" Seifer asked, Lex's Harrliard quickly flanked his left side.

"I'm here, what we doing now Seifer, that cannon's about to shoot again." Lex remarked.

"Cover me, we are going into the trench."

"I don't know it's pretty hot down there, are we gonna make it?"

"It's like just like the mountain pass back home." Seifer said as he pulled the lever on his Megaraptor and began the descent into Gustav Max's core trench. Lex followed close behind and as they got close to the trench, heavy fire from the gun emplacements fell upon them. These however got quickly demolished by the sudden bombardment from the Dracossacks forming the perimeter around the Gustav Max. The way was clear and Seifer and Lex were now on the trench at full speed.

"Shields at maximum, and keep your eyes open for enemy fighters." Seifer said.

"You don't have to say that twice, here they come!" Lex warned as several Gradius craft swooped in for the kill. Lasers quickly fell like rain at the duo but failed to hit their targets. The Gradius fighters however would continue to chase them down at full speed. Far ahead, the core's entrance was closing fast, at their current speed they wouldn't be able to make it. Lex opened the channel with Seifer.

"Seifer... go, go ahead. You have to use the Megaraptor's speed to get to the core, it's the only way. I'll stay here and draw away the fighters."

"Lex that won't be necessary, we are gonna make it!"

"We are NOT! Stop being so stubborn and do as I say!" Lex was intent on sacrificing herself for the cause. Tears started to run through her cheeks in the middle of the emotion, the enemy Gradius however were getting closer and closer, the decision had to be made now. "Seifer, we both knew this was gonna happen. It's so easy to talk about it when we are in the safety of our dorms, yet when the time comes all we want is just to go back. Innocent lives are in your hands now, please, do me a favor and end this war."

Seifer stared at the horizon. He didn't know what to say, what to think, he was about to lose the person his heart had given into the most to save the world he signed up to defend. He could hear the silent sobs of Lex, sobs that just wanted to push him forward and forget about her. Seifer closed his eyes and flipped the switch on his Phantom Weapon.

"_Phantom Weapon Online. Scram Jets Online. Supersonic Missiles Online._"

His finger was now on top of the scram jet button. A single tear came out of his eye as he knew there was no coming back. He pressed it and in seconds his Megaraptor lit up, the boosters went off and Seifer was off at max speed leaving Lex behind. Lex gripped on her flight stick and took a deep breath, lasers zooming past her Harrliard, others making contact and shaking the ship. She could see as the core shut off right after the Megaraptor got inside, Seifer had made it. She then proceeded to pull on the flight stick and send her Harrliard on a somersault face to face against the Gradius fighters who now swarmed her in a hail of laser fire. She cried out in anger as she pulled the trigger to unleash her weapons upon the enemy craft. On the _Swordedge_, alarms blared of the incoming attack of the Gustav Max. Navigators made for the emergency escape ships yet Major Orville decided to stay. It was his time to fall like a warrior. Lieutenant Wright tried to convince him to come along, but the war veteran simply placed a hand on his shoulder and bid him farewell with a gentle smile.

Inside the Rail Cannon's core. Seifer could see how the cannon's mechanisms worked, the energy for the next blast could clearly be seen accumulated through the numerous energy coils, traveling through stages upwards towards the peak were soon it would be projected. Seifer quickly looked around for the reactor that powered up the massive cannon. But the Gustav Max had one last stand to make before it fell to the Mecha Phantom pilot. Several Squads of Victory Viper class ships quickly fell upon Seifer on a last attempt to bring him down. Seifer took to the fight and with the supersonic speed of his Megaraptor outmaneuvered the dark world crafts.

"Sophia. Locate the strongest energy source. That is our target."

"_Highest Energy Level Detected. Range To Target: 5000 Meters._"

The computer then highlighted the target on his radar screen. Seifer didn't waste time on going full throttle towards the reactor. As he looked up, several lasers from the Victory Vipers behind him swooped past the glass shield, but the last energy coils were beginning to fill up for the final blast on the _Swordedge_. The Gustav Max could fire at any moment.

"_4000 Meters._"

"_3000 Meters._"

The energy coils on the Gustav Max were completely charged and the beam was about to be projected off the cannon.

"_2000 Meters._"

"_1000 Meters._"

"Missiles away!" Seifer cried as he was just in range for the clear shot at the target. He pressed the trigger and a supersonic missile immediately fired off and made contact with the reactor blowing it up to smithereens. The impact was less than a millisecond from Gustav Max's unleashing its laser blast on the Swordedge, and without the reactor, the energy retracted and the cannon bursted open with the caught up blast on the barrel. An incredible explosion that paralyzed every fighter craft in the vicinity took place and for a couple of seconds every pair of eyes that witnessed such a sight was silent. Orville then was the first one to cheer with a loud victorious cry into the air. Multiple pilots also cheered as they witness the fall of Dark World's most monstrous weapon. Many of the Dark World's aircraft immediately retreated after seeing their symbol of power vanish right in front of them. Cyber World was now victorious.

Lex, who survived the onslaught of the pursuing Gradius craft. Was the only one that didn't cheer that day. He knew that such an explosion had taken the life of her hero. A strange feeling of victory and defeat overwhelmed her and tears kept coming through her eyes. A comment from a fellow pilot however caught her attention.

"LOOK! It's one of ours coming out of the Gustav Max!"

"WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!" The familiar scream of Seifer could be heard through the headsets of every member of Ghost Squadron. Lex simply laughed it out, wiping the tears from her eyes. She couldn't be happier. The joyful screams of Weiss, Alice and Goddard could also be heard as they cheered on Seifer's escape from the fall of the Gustav Max.

"May Cyber World know, that this day the Darkness has fallen. And nobody but Ghost Squadron can be more responsible." Weiss said triumphantly on the radio.

"Amen Weiss, Amen." Goddard replied.

As the massive juggernaut of the Gustav Max crumbled into the floor, the five Ghost Squadron members along with the rest of the survivors made their return to the Dracossacks. Inside the docking bay, hundreds of pilots and personnel gathered around Seifer's Megaraptor to celebrate the victory. Lex pushed through the crowds to lunge at his fellow pilot and lock his lips in a passionate kiss that got the crowd cheering even more, the rest of the Ghosts joined in and they all huddled as a team, screaming the squad's personal cheer as loud as they could.

The following day, a medal ceremony was held where the members of Ghost Squadron as well as all participating pilots of the great battle were given honors for taking part in the success of one of the greatest battles in the history of Cyber World. Seifer was personally given a commendation of bravery by Major Orville for his acts on the Rail Cannon's core. He couldn't be more proud of the great deeds he accomplished in the good name of his home world and most of all the commanding officer that taught him everything he knew. He was sure that somewhere, the sarge was watching, and he was satisfied. But like always, at the end of any event, Seifer went for some alone time on the hangar bays. This time however, the rest of the Ghosts followed him all the way in. Not that he actually minded. The team now stood on the edges of the Dracossack's docking bay, the beautiful morning sky complemented by a bright sun in the distance, several Megaraptors and Tetherwolves escorting the _Swordedge_ flew past the entrance. The team placed their arms around one another and kept staring at the sky. They all thought on the great moments and the not so great ones, but one thing was for sure. It had been one hell of a journey and it was far from over...

_**END**_


End file.
